JOLIET, Ill. --- The University of St. Francis women's volleyball team got its three-match homestand off on the right foot Tuesday night at the Sullivan Center by opening with a 25-23, 21-25, 25-21, 25-23 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Indiana University Northwest.

The story of the night was that whichever team held the lead late wound up losing the first three sets with stunning rallies by the opposition. Fortunately for the Saints, they wore the right rally caps on this night.

In Set 1, head coach Cara Currier's team gained three kills from Desiree Anderson and two from Lily Robinson late, not to mention two aces from Hannah Pacheco to turn a 22-15 deficit into a 25-23 win. Pacheco finished the night with five aces to go along with a team-high 25 assists.

In Set 2, it was Indiana Northwest (8-13, 4-10 CCAC) that surprised late with a closing 7-0 run to win 25-21. The RedHawks initially blew an early 12-6 lead when USF (13-15, 9-5) countered with an 8-2 rally to force a 14-all tie. Five ties resulted after that before the Saints opened a 21-18 lead only to see that advantage get wiped out with Indiana Northwest's closing 7-0 burst.

Set 3 was a similar story, but in reverse order with the Saints jumping out to a 7-0 advantage only to have Indiana Northwest rally and gain a 21-19 advantage. But like the RedHawks earlier in the set to get back in the game, the Saints put together a 6-0 run keyed by a pair of Taylor Connolly kills to win it.

St. Francis also rallied from an early 7-3 deficit in Set 4 with Anderson closing out the match with a pair of kills. She would finish with a match-high 18 kills.

Stephanie Woods was next in the attacking line with 11 kills, followed by Lauren Stefanski with nine. Stefanski also produced six blocks, while Woods added four.

Besides Pacheco, Abby Lab contributed 22 assists to the offensive cause, while Gabby Paelmo (19 digs) and Hannah Monfre (15) took care of defensive matters.

Up Next
The Saints get right back on the court Thursday when they take on Calumet College of St. Joseph in a 7 pm match at the Sullivan Center.

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